Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries at Eriswell (RAF Lakenheath)

Excavation of three
early Anglo Saxon cemeteries at RAF Lakenheath between 1997
and 2002 uncovered a total of 394 inhumation and 17 cremation
burials; the inclusion of burials from earlier excavations by
Grace, Lady Briscoe, gives a total of 446. Cemeteries ERL 104
and 114 were almost fully excavated with the majority of the
cemetery limits exposed, but only the southern and western
limits of ERL 046 were contained within the excavation. Small
areas of all three cemeteries remain preserved below roads,
buildings and grass.

A high proportion of the inhumations produced grave goods ranging
from individual beads and iron knives, through full weapons burials
and furnished female graves to animal sacrifices. The most
exotic burials were two cases
in which men were buried in graves within small ring-ditches
and accompanied by their horses. The first of these burials
from site ERL 104 aroused much excitement, receiving
international media coverage. It included in situ gilded
bronze bridle fittings, the first time this has been found in
Britain.

The vast majority of burials were east-west aligned, and supine
extended or flexed. There was little rigid order to the burials on
site ERL 104, although short lines can be seen in certain areas.
Most of the burials on ERL 046 were clearly aligned in rows and the
‘wealthier’ burials seemed to be grouped to the west end of the
cemetery. Two Bronze Age inhumations excavated within a circular
area devoid of Saxon burials in the centre of ERL 114 were
indicators of the prehistoric burial mound which was to become the
focus of this cemetery. This is the largest group of Early
Anglo-Saxon burials
excavated in Suffolk and one of the largest in the country in
modern times. More than half the burials have been assessed as
in fair condition or better, thus representing the largest
group of reasonably preserved Anglo-Saxon skeletons in
Suffolk, and one of the largest in the country in modern
times. The date range of the cemetery group as a whole has
been provisionally identified as late 5th to early 7th century
AD and grave goods typical of both the Migration and
Conversion Periods have been recorded.

The intensity of development at RAF Lakenheath means that there
is an unusually high degree of recently excavated settlement and
landscape information available to provide a context for the
cemeteries. Evidence of settlement, with dwellings and occupation
deposits, from the 6th to the 8th centuries has been found nearby,
and dense late Roman settlement lies within 500m. There is evidence
of extensive field systems showing a continuity of land use in this
area dating from the prehistoric to medieval periods. The possible
presence of some ditches contemporary with the cemetery use may
provide evidence for the wider landscape around the cemeteries
during the Early Saxon period.

The excavation of three adjacent cemeteries is a rare occurrence
and these form the largest Anglo-Saxon cemetery sample available
for modern analysis. Study of it is likely to increase the
possibility of deriving good evidence for debate on gender, class,
ethnicity and social organisation within rural Anglo-Saxon
communities, an eventuality which will be enhanced by the good
state of preservation and the apparent completeness of the
cemeteries. Assessment has shown that the excavated evidence has
good potential to contribute greatly to the understanding of Early
Saxon population studies, funerary ritual, social structures,
artefact studies and the relationship between cemetery, settlement
and the wider historic landscape. The significance of these sites
and the value of the information contained within them cannot be
overstated.